Ben Spencer is just 24-hours away from leading his side into a Premiership final, but it’s a far cry from where they were two years ago.
The West Country outfit finished bottom of the Premiership table in 2022, however since the arrival of Johann van Graan they have regained their status as one of the best teams in the country.
Whilst Spencer has won four Premiership titles with Saracens, the journey he has been on at the Rec would make winning on Saturday that much sweeter.
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“It would be huge,” Spencer told Rugby Nause News. “This is for the guys who have been here a long time, the likes of Tom Dunn, Charlie Ewels, players like that. Since I got here, the club has been through some tough times; but the support we’ve had through those times has been unbelievable.”
He added: “If we manage to get over the line on Saturday, it would be definitely up there with one of the best.”
Bath finished second in the regular season, and their 43-12 win over Saturday’s opponents Northampton ensured they finished level on points with the Saints.
Ben Spencer on the pressure of finals
Tomorrow’s final will be Bath’s first since 2015, and you have to go back 26 years for the last Bath title win.
This obviously means a large crop of this Bath team have not been involved in the showpiece at Twickenham, but luckily their captain has.
Spencer won four Premiership titles with Saracens during his time in London, He also won three Champions Cups and has played in a World Cup final.
Finals are nothing new to Spencer, and he detailed the pressure that comes with playing in these events.
“There’s no second chances, there’s no next week, the finer margins becoming finer, the small decisions becoming bigger,” he said.
“We spoke about building an innings last week, and I think we did that really well with scoreboard pressure. It’s those little moments in games.”
Ben Spencer isn’t the only leader in the squad though. Finn Russell has captained his country, and the likes of Charlie Ewels and Tom Dunn are also experienced heads, and he was full of praise for his wider leadership group.
“I think the great thing about this group is there’s plenty of guys that I can lean on to make those decisions. We get messages from coaches but then me, Finn and Charlie tend to get together before making a final decision. It’s very much a group thing.”
